A relatively low electrical voltage, such as about for example 28 volts, is conventionally utilized to fire gun primer and rocket ignitors. Prior electrical power feed assemblies which have been utilized to provide firing are disclosed by: U.S. Pat. No. 1,897,863 Ruhlemann; U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,611 Quinnell et al; U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,903 Crothers; U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,384 Gaugler; U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,924 Johnsen; U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,693 Honeycutt; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,796 Warnock; and by Netherlands Octrooiaanvrage No. 281460.
Over the last ten to fifteen years, electrothermal guns have been developed to provide firing of a projectile by generation of a plasma such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,261 Goldstein et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,062 Chryssomallis et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,647 Goldstein et al. Such electrothermal guns normally require a voltage on the order of several kilovolts to produce a current flow of tens of kiloamps such as on the order of about 100 kiloamps in order to generate the plasma. This relatively high power results in problems such as heating, arcing, and electromagnetic separating and attractive forces between components that carry the electrical current.